Proposed New England Merger: Frequently Asked Questions

This proactive step is made from a position of strength, focused on fulfilling our mission and serving our members. While each of our societies is strong on its own, together, we can have a greater impact on our members, communities and the profession we serve. This merger will:  

• Amplify our collective voice in advocacy through increased membership;
• Expand your peer network;
• Increase educational options;
• Strengthen our pipeline efforts with the ability to reach more students and future CPAs;
• Enhance support, tools and your community while maintaining local connections you value; and
• Ensure long-term stability, relevance and sustainability.

As our profession confronts significant pressure that brings both challenges and opportunities, we believe we are better positioned to support our members by coming together. This is about defining our future, not reacting to it. 

Additionally, merger and acquisition activity in the accounting profession has increased approximately 15% over the past two years. Data from the association sector reveals that close to half of associations are contemplating a merger in the next two to five years.   

Your local connections will remain the same. You will still work with the same MassCPAs staff and get the same member service and programs you have come to count on.

Zach Donah, CAE, current President and CEO of MassCPAs, will lead the New England Society of CPAs as President and CEO. CEOs of the other state societies will all stay on in the new organization as state directors to preserve local voice and connection. A board of directors will ensure the participation of all states.

Members of the five CPA societies will be asked to vote in person on the proposed merger in May 2026. If the measure is approved, it will take effect on July 1, 2026. There will be ongoing communications leading up to the vote, including virtual town hall meetings in January 2026 across all state societies. Please see the schedule for town hall forums and voting below.

Our board launched this initiative to ensure that the Society remains strong, relevant and positioned to meet the needs of our current and future members. To lead that work, the board formed a Long-Term Sustainability Committee of members from across the profession. This group represented the full range of our community to make sure every perspective was heard and reflected in these discussions. After months of study, thoughtful discussion, and careful deliberation, the committee concluded that while each of the current societies is strong, together we can be even stronger, creating greater impact for our members, our communities and the profession we all serve.

Over the past year, board members, volunteer leaders and staff from all five state societies have worked together to design a model that strengthens what matters most: your state advocacy, local relationships and your connection to the people who know you, while adding more resources, opportunities and community across New England.

Local priorities will remain front and center of advocacy and member engagement, with increased capacity to deliver on state-specific goals, programs, outreach and member support.  We will maintain a local voice and relevance and preserve our local presence and personal connection. You will still work with the same Society staff and get the same member service and programs you count on. Each state will continue to have a voice in shaping strategy and setting direction for the new entity.

Our new name will be the New England Society of CPAs. Beyond that, what is changing is what we will be able to offer you. We will expand our reach through shared resources and greater impact, pooled expertise to deliver more educational options, broader peer connections, stronger advocacy and the ability to reach more students and future CPAs.

There is no impact on your 2026 dues rate as the result of this merger.

We understand members’ concerns about rising CPE costs, especially as more programs have shifted to virtual formats. The proposed merger will not automatically change the price of individual CPE programs, but it will give us greater flexibility to manage costs, expand offerings and deliver more choice and value over time.

Many CPE programs, especially high-demand and national offerings, are provided by third-party vendors. In those cases, pricing is largely set by the provider, not the state society, and that would not change as a result of the merger. However, a key goal of the proposed merger is to create greater scale and buying power. With a larger regional membership base, we expect to be in a stronger position to negotiate with vendors, strengthen partnerships and make more strategic decisions about which programs we offer directly.

Overall, the proposed merger will expand the range of our CPE offerings while continuing to grow reduced rate and free CPE opportunities for members.

There will be no change to licensure as a result of this merger.  Members will continue to maintain their license through their state board, which in Massachusetts is the Board of Public Accountancy.

Many of our firms and members already work across New England, and this evolution reflects the regional nature of today’s practice. By combining our strengths, we can better support the way you do business while keeping your local relationships and advocacy intact. The strength in numbers that results from this merger will lead to a combined entity with stronger and more singular voice and greater ability to build a talent pipeline with more young people choosing accounting careers. In short, we acquire strength through size.

For small firms, sole practitioners, corporate finance professionals and Massachusetts-only firms, the benefit will be better support, more tools and a bigger community to lean on while maintaining local resources and connections. Advocacy in Massachusetts and every other state will also be enhanced because of the larger organization and its greater scale.

A shared-service model would not create the same benefits as a merger. Beyond shared services, a complete merger allows for a stronger voice in advocacy through increased membership, an expanded peer network and broadened pipeline efforts with the ability to reach more students and future CPAs.

Smaller mergers have been discussed but a comprehensive merger such as this one has never been proposed before. The concept has never been more timely. Board and staff leaders across all five societies see an opportunity to collectively define their future. They are very aligned in their values and in their vision for the new association and see unparalleled opportunities in this merger.

The power of collaboration has been a cornerstone of the accounting profession and MassCPAs throughout our history. In 1899, local practitioners came together with a bold idea: to bring together local and regional groups into one statewide organization built on collaboration, strength in numbers and a shared commitment to advance the profession. Together, they formed the Massachusetts Society of CPAs.

Today, the challenges and opportunities shaping the profession are bigger, faster and more complex than any one state society can tackle alone: pipeline, technology, shifting regulation and rapidly changing member expectations. Working as a region gives us the ability to increase local advocacy, expand resources and build a stronger, more sustainable model for the future.

That founding vision continues to guide everything we do. For more than a century, we’ve grown and evolved alongside the profession, whether through new education programs, expanded advocacy efforts or helping members navigate a changing landscape. And through it all, one belief has remained: we achieve more when we work together.

With this merger, we continue to build on the collaboration, strength in numbers and shared commitment to advance the profession that has defined us from the start.

The Connecticut Society of CPAs has not yet joined the discussion about being part of this new regional organization. The vote next May affects only the five state societies named above.
 
The Connecticut Society and the members they serve remain key partners to both our region and our profession. We have a long-standing, collaborative relationship, and we will continue to strengthen that partnership through our ongoing work regarding the CPA pipeline, regional advocacy initiatives, and support for the broader New England accounting community.

Read what members can expect here.